He froze for a few seconds, staring at me in frustration.
“I’m not agreeing to this. Make a scene all you want.”
I lowered my head and let out a cold laugh.
“Really? Ethan, if you don’t agree, I’ll file for divorce in court.”
“Nora is pregnant—your cheating during our marriage is a fact. Do you think a court will buy that it’s just ‘pure friendship’? Or are you ready to walk away with nothing?”
I looked him straight in the eye, my face calm, almost relieved.
Panic flashed in his eyes as he finally realized I wasn’t bluffing.
The last bit of drunken haze vanished from him.
He reached out with a trembling hand and grabbed me, his voice suddenly soft.
“Claire, I… I was wrong. I’ll change.”
“No so-called ‘friend’ is more important than my wife…”
“I promise I’ll keep my distance from Nora, I’ll cut her off completely. I don’t want a divorce, I…”
“Ethan? What are you saying?”
At some point, Nora had walked in and was standing behind us.
One of his guys supported her, looking awkward.
“She wouldn’t go home—insisted on seeing Ethan.”
As soon as he saw the scene inside, he bolted.
Nora bit her lip, pointing at Ethan in disbelief, her voice shrill.
“Ethan, what about what you said when we became ride-or-die friends? You told me women were like clothes and brothers were for life—now you’re gonna cut me off for a woman?!”
“You ungrateful bastard!”
She shouted, tears streaming, and ran out.
Ethan’s face changed drastically, his body instinctively wanting to follow.
I spoke coldly, stopping him in his tracks.
“You said you don’t want a divorce? Then stay.”
His feet were nailed to the floor, torn between me and the door where Nora had disappeared.
Every time, he chose Nora.
This was my last chance to him—
but of course, nothing was different this time.
Like a trapped animal, he turned on me, roaring,
“Claire! The saying ‘the most vicious thing is a woman’s heart’ is true after all.”
“Nora is pregnant—if something happens to her, can you live with that on your conscience?!”
Without waiting for my reply, he stormed out after her.
That night, I moved out of our home.
I had my lawyer deliver the divorce papers to Ethan directly.
This marriage would end—whether he wanted it or not.
But before he even responded, the next morning as I arrived at my company’s building,
a familiar red car came speeding straight toward me.
I couldn’t dodge in time—there was a blur of spinning sky and ground—
then I hit the pavement, the lower half of my body numb.
The car door opened.
Nora stepped out slowly, looking down at me with a twisted smile.
“Claire, you’ve got guts—actually trying to break me and Ethan apart?”
“You’ll never match what we have!”
“He was jealous when Chris stole his scholarship and pushed him down the stairs—I covered for him and lied to the police.”
“When he wanted that internship at a top real estate firm, I let Mr. Thompson touch me to get him the spot.”
“Could you have done that for him? Could you?”
She screamed the words at me, then pulled out her phone, dialing 911—
but her finger hovered above the call button.
“Claire, I’ll give you a chance. Swear you’ll stay out of things between me and Ethan,
and I’ll call for an ambulance right now.”
“Otherwise, wait a few more minutes and those legs of yours will never work again.”
The pain was blinding, but it couldn’t match the hatred boiling in my chest.
